HART | Vienna Choral Society

Thank You For Coming To Animal Crackers!

October 25, 2015

What a wonderful concert it was this weekend! Kids, puppies, and love abounded with an appreciative audience. Many thanks to HART and The fabulous Freedom Hill Singers. THANK YOU for getting us off to such a great start this season. We could not ask for more.

And no, our artistic director did not, in fact, go home with a new puppy. Yet. (Can’t remember the last time she took off either before the concert or during intermission to do anything other than talk to the choir or powder her nose!)

We dive right back into rehearsals this week for our next concert. Please save the date for HARMONY AND LIGHT: A JAZZ-INSPIRED CHRISTMAS. 4:30 pm, Saturday, December 19, 2015. More details to come soon!

Rescue and Pet Selfie Q&As with VCS Choir Members – Final Edition

October 22, 2015

A day before dress rehearsal, we give you the final in our series of rescue and pet selfies. And appropriately, one is about a dog, and the other a cat. Come to our show this weekend, and you’ll see why that makes sense with the repertoire!

Emma Lou, a Treeing Walker Coonhound

Emma Lou (whose human is Leslie Helfgott, Alto One) is a Treeing Walker Coonhound. Treeing Walking Coonhounds are well known for their hunting skills of small game such as raccoons and then ‘treeing’ the animal. She was rescued by HART from a West Virginia family that did not appreciate her hunting skills. [Read more…]

T Minus 4 to Animal Crackers!

October 20, 2015

It’s show week, we’re nearly there! The first concert of the season is this weekend – ANIMAL CRACKERS, 4:30 pm, Saturday, October 24, 2015 at Vienna Baptist Church.

It’s not too late to buy tickets for the concert, or for the season. Tickets will be available online until 11:30 pm Friday night. The box office opens on Saturday afternoon at 3:45 pm. Doors will open at 4:20 pm.

We encourage you to get your tickets now — the better to skip the line on show night. Because … puppy love! We are told on very good authority that there will be dogs and puppies present from HART. (In the parking lot, not during the concert, just to be clear.)

If you get there early, we invite you to get your tickets and go shake a paw outdoors! Do it for our animal loving choir members who will be busy with pre-show sound check. Because, well, that whole concert thing….

Rescue and Pet Selfie Q&As with VCS Choir Members – Edition 2

October 20, 2015

Next up in the pet selfie series leading up to ANIMAL CRACKERS: A Concert For A Cause – Michele Fejfar and Bonnie Galat, both Alto Ones with small animals that take up a ton of room, physically or otherwise!

“I am Bunter, and I was here before the kids. So there.”

Michele and Bunter, actually asleep. She is, anyway.

Michele Fejfar
This is our cat Bunter. My husband and I adopted him- well before kids! – from the Fairfax County Animal Shelter almost 15 years ago. We went there intending to adopt a cat and found a good one. He’s an orange tabby and we think he’s about 19 years old now. We call him our dog because he will run to the door to greet people (a little less often now that he’s gone deaf), and as soon as you sit down, he will find your lap. Some of the goofy things he does are yowling in the middle of the night and sleeping on my neck- neither very sleep inducing!

Bonnie Galat

Yogi. Small, but mighty.

This is Yogi. He is a Maltese and has just had his 13th birthday. [Read more…]

Rescue and Pet Selfie Q&As with VCS Choir Members – Edition 1

October 20, 2015

ANIMAL CRACKERS – our first concert for the season and A Concert For A Cause in partnership with HART (Homeless Animals Rescue Team) and The Freedom Hill Singers – was inspired by several things, not the least of which is the fact that our artistic director, and several of our singers are animal lovers with wonderful stories about their pets – some rescued, some not, all apparently in charge. So we decided to talk to some choir members about their pets.

We start first, with two former VCS Board Chairs – Melissa Hindley, Soprano One and Karen Akers, Alto Two.

Image of Melissa Hindley with her Siberian cat. Caption reads: Melissa Hindley, former VCS Board Chair, Soprano One, frequent soloist, force of nature....but the cat is in charge.

Melissa Hindley, former VCS Board Chair, Soprano One, frequent soloist, force of nature….but the cat is in charge.

VCS: What is your pet’s name and why did you get her?
Melissa Hindley: Tatyana is a Siberian Seal Colour Point Tree Cat!!! 3 years old. Got her because children should have a pet whilst growing up and we wanted our kids to know what it’s like to look after something they love.

(Liss is from the UK and does not use American spelling. Can you tell?)

VCS: Fill in the blank: My life is better with the pet because ……
MH: She’s always happy to see me!

VCS: The goofiest thing my pet does is……
MH: She will only drink running water. We spend a lot of time standing by the sink waiting for her to finish drinking!

VCS: Fill in the blank: I know my pet knows my mood because…..
MH: She runs away very quickly when I’m cross because she’s done something naughty!

VCS: Who’s in charge? You? Or the pet?
MH: She is, of course! What pet owner would say differently?!!!

Meanwhile back at Karen Akers’ home, the land of Betty and Ruthie….

“What? It’s our chair.” ::shrug::

VCS: What are your pet’s name and why did you get them?
Karen Akers: Betty and Ruthie, sisters, mackerel tabby cats, 11 years old. Even though my husband is allergic to cats, he really doesn’t like dogs, and since I profoundly believe that children who want pets should have them, he graciously said OK when the time came (and he’s been gracious about it ever since).

VCS: Who rescued whom?
KA: If we waited for those two to rescue us, we’d be waiting a long, long, time. Betty and Ruthie have added immeasurable pleasure to our lives, and I’m convinced they love us, but if we were all passed out on the floor, they’d use their energy to open the Fancy Feast themselves.

VCS: Was it an impulse or had you planned to rescue/get your pet?
KA: We planned it, and then surprised our daughters with pet supplies under the Christmas tree. We browsed the HART website, visited with a couple of lovely cats, found Betty & Ruthie, and by New Year’s Day 2005, we had our cats home!

VCS: How did you find them?
KA: A friend recommended HART and we were so smitten with each and every cat on their website, there was no option to go anywhere else.

VCS: Fill in the blank: My life is better with the pet because ….
KA: It is an amazing privilege to have animals trust you enough to prefer napping on you to anything else. Plus, soft fur to nuzzle!

VCS: Fill in the blank: The goofiest thing my pets do is …..
KA: Tag team at dinner time. They take turns coming to wherever I am and trying various facial expressions – ranging from mild concern to sincere concern to true grumpiness – to get me to feed them. Dinner is at 6:00, so by 6:10, Betty is lolling on the floor, waiting for sweet, sweet death to claim her and Ruthie is attempting to write her Congressperson.

VCS: I know my pet knows my mood because …..
KA: I’ll come home to find the cats lounging on the dining room table and they’ll give me a flick of recognition and continue their lounge. When my husband comes home and finds them on the dining room table, you can practically hear the Fred Flintstone coconut noises as they scramble to get down. . . and far away.

VCS: Who’s in charge? You? Or the pet?
KA: I say I am, but everyone else in the family thinks that’s hilarious.

Clearly, we have a trend – we get them “for the kids,” and they’re totally in charge.

We sing ANIMAL CRACKERS: A Concert For A Cause at 4:30 pm, Saturday, October 24, 2016 at Vienna Baptist Church (541 Marshall Road SW, Vienna, VA 22180).

Tickets to ANIMAL CRACKERS – and 2015-16 season tickets – are available online. Adults/$25, Seniors(65+) and Students (15-18)/$20, Youth/Free – with a paying audience member. We’ll have tickets at the door too. Box office opens at 3:45 pm, doors will open at 4:20 pm.

Q&A with HART- Homeless Animals Rescue Team

October 19, 2015

animalcrackershorizontal
We’re counting down to our first concert of the season, ANIMAL CRACKERS: A Concert For A Cause! Our partners are the fabulous folks at HART (Homeless Animals Rescue Team), who do amazing work.

HARTVOL HART is a no-kill animal rescue/support group that takes in and rehomes abused and unwanted dogs and cats. HART works with local veterinarians, trainers, foster homes, and kennels to provide temporary care for the pet until s/he is placed in a loving, carefully-screened forever home.

Nancy Tarr, executive director of HART took a few moments away from the four-leggeds to answer our questions.

VCS: What makes a great pet owner?
HART: A great pet owner has a commitment to making a pet a member of the family and will only take on the responsibility of pet ownership if they are prepared to provide the following:

daily exercise and enrichment
a quality diet
adequate and consistent medical care
plenty of love and affection
TIME

VCS: Kids + pets = …..?
HART: There are many benefits to having pets as part of your family. Studies show that children who grow up with pets tend to develop fewer allergies due to exposure to common bacteria. Pets can also boost self esteem and lower stress AND they can teach your children about love and nurturing.

VCS: The smallest animal that came your way was?
HART: A Chihuahua.

VCS: The largest animal that came your way was?
HART: Pun, a giant black lab great dane mix that used to love to lounge in a swimming pool filled with ice cubes in the summer. We used to joke that his head was a big as an adult lion’s head.

VCS: The gentlest animal that came your way was?
HART: Coco. A black labradoodle who came from Roanoke Virginia after her elderly owner had to move to full time nursing care. Her owner loved her so much that she wrote a poem for Coco. [Read more…]

Counting Down To ANIMAL CRACKERS!

October 16, 2015

We’re counting down to ANIMAL CRACKERS, 4:30 pm, Saturday, October 24, 2015 at Vienna Baptist Church.

Meaning, next week at this time, the choir will be prepping for dress rehearsal.

HART won’t be at dress rehearsal. Which is probably a good thing, since the Freedom Hill Singers will definitely be there – and there’s probably only so much of cuteness some of us can resist at the end of the workweek.

(Our artistic director has already said something about how I must restrain her from adopting a dog on show night because she wants “all of them.”)

Do you have your tickets yet?

It’s not too late to get tickets to the show or season tickets for 2015-16. Talk to friends in the choir or get them online below. We always have tickets at the door, but seating is first come first served – so get your tickets now and skip the line on show night.

See you next weekend!

Friends of VCS – We’re Half Way There!

September 23, 2015

Lots to share with you this week!

For starters, we’re counting down to our first concert. We sing…

ANIMAL CRACKERS
4:30 pm, Saturday
October 24, 2015
Vienna Baptist Church
(541 Marshall RD SW, Vienna, VA 22180)

Tickets, including season tickets, are now on sale.

Tickets are Adults – $25, and Seniors (65+) and Students (15 – 18) – $20. Youth younger than 15 attend free with a ticketed patron. We’ll have tickets at the door, but get them now – online or through choir members – and you can skip the line on show night*.

You probably already know that we are partnering with HART (Homeless Animals Rescue Team) for this concert. HART is a wonderful organization that can’t help but tug at your heartstrings. Hey, there’s a reason cat videos sometimes rule the Internet! We’ll tell you more about HART in a couple of weeks, but today, we’d love your help supporting them in WTOP’s Click For A Cause. Help HART win $30K – click HERE, scroll down to find them, and “like” HART before 5 pm EST on Friday, September 25, 2015.

Last but not least, we’d love your help too. Your generosity has helped us get past the half way mark on our ambitious $10K goal for this season. But we still need to make at least $4K more, hopefully in the next week. We can absolutely do this!

Please consider supporting the Friends of VCS so we can continue being the excellent, fun, and awesomely programmed community choir you’ve come to expect. And to the Friends who have already given, we cannot thank you enough. [Read more…]

Friends of VCS Fall 2015 – We’re A Third Of The Way There!

September 17, 2015

Every fall we invite you to join the Friends of VCS. Why? Very simply – the arts enrich our lives immeasurably. And you make it possible for us to enrich the community with more music.

Our playlists kick start start the party, calm us down in traffic, keep us going to deadline, and tell us who we are. No matter who we are – young, old, professional, amateur, listener, or performer – the music enriches our happiness, and says what we can’t when we don’t have the words.

We’re particularly cognizant of that last part.

We live busy, sometimes anxious lives in this neighborhood. Everyone pays some attention to the news. We here in the VCS community? We pay extra special attention to refugee crises, government shutdown talk, deployments, elections, and papal visits.

When we’re stuck in yet another Metro delay, or waiting on word of loved ones, the music in our ear buds are what keep us civilized. Sane, even. And when we’re overwhelmed by events, the music says everything we can’t, and gives our emotions somewhere to go. [Read more…]

Thank You For Coming To Animal Crackers!

Rescue and Pet Selfie Q&As with VCS Choir Members – Final Edition

T Minus 4 to Animal Crackers!

Rescue and Pet Selfie Q&As with VCS Choir Members – Edition 2

Rescue and Pet Selfie Q&As with VCS Choir Members – Edition 1

Q&A with HART- Homeless Animals Rescue Team

Counting Down To ANIMAL CRACKERS!

Friends of VCS – We’re Half Way There!

Friends of VCS Fall 2015 – We’re A Third Of The Way There!

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